1997

Highlights of 1997:

March 10: The TV version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, starring Sarah Michelle Geller, debuts. Teen lockers get a new poster girl, and Slayers a new heroine. The series is a huge hit and runs until 2003, and 7 seasons and spawns a spin-off series called “Angel”. (Article)

June 6: Sanguinarius.org for Real Vampires/”Sanguinarius: The Vampire Support Page” is set up and launched by Sanguinarius, providing online resources, articles and information for, by, and about real Vampyres and the Vampyre community. The site, through various incarnations continues to be a reliable resource to the global VC. (Article)

New York City, New York, USA – The remarkable Long Black Veil or “LBV” events hold a unique place in the history of New York City’s nightlife. LBV begins in 1997 as “Long Black Veil & the Vampyre Lounge” on the second Wednesday of each month at the legendary MOTHER nightclub on 14th and Washington Streets in New York City.

The Black Veil represents a code of vampyre ethics and common sense widely accepted by the Vampyre subculture. It is akin to the Strigoi Vii Covenant and although they are different documents they are, in essence, compatible. Originally authored by Father Sebastian of House Sahjaza, it is written as a code of conduct for patrons of the vampyre haven, Long Black Veil, in New York City. The original Black Veil, now referred to as version 1, is derived from Renaissance Fair etiquette and from existing codes of conduct in the BDSM / fetish scene. Some influence is undoubtedly absorbed from the White Wolf Game Studio role playing game “Vampire: the Masquerade” as this afforded the only set of “terms” being used in the community at the time.

August: In celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, scholars, writers, collectors, merchants, and yes, even a few vampires, gather to celebrate “Dracula: The Vampire Event of the Century” at the Westin Hotel near the Los Angeles Airport for four days in mid-August, 1997.

OVC, USA – The term “vampire community” is coined by Sanguinarius on her “Statements of Purpose” page. (sourced from “About the Internet vampiric community” by Amy Krieytaz) Until this time, the thought that all Vampyres and vampyric people around the world could be part of the same community or identity group, is something of a novelty.

OVC, USA – A very popular website, known as “the Real Vampires Home Page”, is launched by Inanna Arthen (Vyrdolak) in the Summer. Many find her site to be very informative and helpful, although her theories have since been used by some to justify an exclusive definition of the “vampire community,” she herself generally advocates a community including everyone who identifies as a “vampire.” In its original incarnation (summer 1997 to summer 1998), Vyrdolak’s site is best known for its “Real Vampires Traits Checklist,” which is criticized sharply by some as a diagnostic tool, but praised by many others as a detailed description of the majority of “real vampires.” Also, Vyrdolak appears to be the first person on the web to articulate the idea that “real vampires” need blood primarily as a source of pranic energy, and that there is no essential difference between blood-drinking vampires and psychic vampires. (sourced from “About the Internet vampiric community” by Amy Krieytaz)

Austin, Texas – Damien Daville of the Vampire Church, takes over the vampirism part of the group “the Legion of Darkness” (LOD) which later disbands. From that time on he decides to use the internet to appeal to people worldwide about the bio energy condition of vampirism. Along the way the Vampire Church publishes an online magazine, articles and interviews. By 2011, it continues to have an online presence and classes on the subject. (Source – Damien Daville)

OVC, USA – The fragile beginnings of the Vampyre community are to be found mainly at the “Vampirism Research Institute” (VRI), whose message base archives are still available. The site’s owner, Liriel McMahon, is not a self-described vampire herself and is skeptical of the claim that a craving for blood could be anything other than psychosomatic. Towards the end of the year, the VRI vampires move most of their discussions to Namadie Z. Talck’s “Hall of Memories” message board, which becomes a major gathering-place of online vampires for a while at the end of 1997, though it subsequently ceases to play a central role. In its heyday, it is the first web-based message board where discussion is dominated by real-life vampires instead of posers and role-players. (sourced from “About the Internet vampiric community” by Amy Krieytaz)

OVC, USA – Vrydolak’s “FireHeart” article is reposted on the EarthSpirit website at the beginning of 1997, it is like a bomb going off in the fledgling OVC. The ranks of the PSI Vampyre community swell with the newly aware, growing explosively, with self-defined “psi-vamps” outnumbering both blood drinkers and “hybrids.” This in part gives rise to what has become known as “the Psychic Vampyre Revolution” which continues well into 1998. The “psychic vampire” community grows into its own independent identity, with its own leaders, its own subcommunity, its own vocabulary, and its own concepts.

USA – A Virginia Beach man is sentenced to 26 years in prison for sexually molesting eight girls, ages 13 to 16, who he recruited for his vampire “family.” During the trial, the girls testify that Jon C. Bush told them about a role-playing game where they assumed the roles of ancient vampires. The girls said that Bush told them they could become vampires by having sexual intercourse with him or by letting him bite them.

November 20: Marshfield, USA – Two males and three females who dressed and dyed their hair black are accused of injuring a man with a razor blade in Marshfield in October. Authorities claim the young adults are reported to be roaming central Wisconsin, biting each other in the neck, drinking blood and claiming to be vampires.